@letsgopa your cross country comment might be true for the girls team as I have no experience with them, but last year my DS was one of two 9th graders invited to preseason. @maribrazil he received an email from the XC coach sometime mid-August.
Thank you @BigBlueSwim. If some coaches send emails mid-August I guess I still have a chance for Girls Varsity Soccer thenā¦
I would defintely have your daughter keep in touch with the coach about her summer training, etc. and even though she might not make varsity she might still get an invite to pre-season training.
@katrina571 did they add summer homework this year? Iād be surprised if they did. They generally have no homework over breaks. Thanksgiving and Spring break are easy because it is after exams. One year S had PE homework that was technically due two days after winter break but he worked on it over vacation.
@BigBlueSwim I actually got the email from the soccer coach later in the day I posted that reply. It included all the summer training. But thank you for the advice anyway.
Does anyone know if Andover sends out a āsupply listā of materials to bring for classes (I know they tell us about textbooks)? If not, whatās a general list of supplies that we should get? Iām especially curious about notebooks vs. binders, since my middle school required binders but I donāt know which works better for classes at Andover.
@livesk8dream If they havenāt received it yet, your parents will receive a Parentās Handbook. In the very last page, there is a list of supplies. It says āsubject notebooks/organizersā. The list is probably also available online, although Iām not sure.
No formal supply list was given last year prior to or during the school year. Not a single class my son had last year required any set form of organization. Teachers left it to students to organize as they wished. My DS went with the same sort of 3 ring binders, dividers and loose leaf and graph paper for most of his classes that he was required to use in middle school and it worked out fine.
This year he has decided to go with a 5-7 section accordion file and a one subject notebook for each class instead. He found the 3 ring binders were too big to put more than 3 into his backpack with laptop, books, etc. and this forced him to go back to his dorm either between classes or during conference time neither of which was ideal. Go with what you know and feel comfortable with.
does anyone know when schedules came out last year?
August 19, just after housing email came out.
Is there any rule or general preference for composition notebooks vs spiral notebooks?
As far as I know there arenāt any rules about this, but my kiddo prefers spiral, and no. 9 mechanical pencils 
Can anyone tell me more about varsity athletes arriving early? My DS has received a letter from the football coach asking him to arrive on Sat. 9/2. He will move in that day and begin training. I plan to stick around until orientation on Tuesday- assuming I should be there for that? Then I will visit friends on the east coast for a few days and was wondering if I can take him off campus Sat. the 9th before heading back to the west coast. I thought I heard somewhere along the way that you are not allowed to visit the first weekend - does anyone know if that is true?
Unless something has recently changed, Andover has no closed weekends. Assuming no conflict with Andover activities (which take priority) the kid can leave campus any weekend.
Hi @skimom22. My kiddo arrived early last year for a different varsity sport and we stuck around until Wednesday morning so we could participate in the Tuesday orientation activities. We know parents who didnāt stay and that was fine too.
As for making plans on Saturday the 9th, has the coach sent a practice/game schedule out yet? Looking online there is a home football game on the schedule that afternoon which may impact your sonās flexibility that day. There may also be orientation activities on Saturday as there were last year, BUT for new varsity athletes the scheduled practices took precedence over the orientation activities. I would expect that all of this will be covered in detail in the opening of school schedule which should come out in the next couple of weeks.
One personal note, last year we thought that we might have the chance to take kiddo out for a few meals during the preseason but it turned out that the kid went to all meals with the team. Our time together for exploring and buying things for the dorm room was limited to free time not occupied by practice and meals.
OK, thanks @AppleNotFar and @skieurope . I would love to stick around and see the game, so I guess I will check the schedule. I didnāt anticipate a game that soon. I donāt think that he will actually play varsity since he is a new junior (9th) and not a recruited athlete but it will be a great chance for him to see what lies ahead.
Technically, itās not a game; itās a scrimmage. 
But, as I said earlier, it would preclude him leaving campus.
Aha! I see that now when I check the sport-specific schedule. Previously I had only consulted the master athletic āscrollā and assumed that the event listed was a game. Still a newbie!
The Opening of School Schedule is live on The Hive!
Thank you so much @AppleNotFar ! I found it on the PAnet under academic resources. Iām not sure if thatās the same as the Hive. I didnāt even know it was posted, or the sports schedules. So helpful!